How to have a better menstrual cycle
Image via Unsplash
If you feel disrupted throughout the month whether it be with PMS, period pain or random bouts of exhaustion and are fed up of being told it’s ‘normal’, then Menstrual Cycle Awareness can literally change your life. This is a FREE and SIMPLE practice that can not only lesson your symptoms, but give you more energy, more, vitality and much more ease.
What is Menstrual Cycle Awareness?
It sounds simple, but Menstrual Cycle Awareness is exactly that: being aware of the fact that you have a CYCLE and then adapting yourself to it.
Why should you care?
Imagine swimming in the sea and getting caught in a riptide. Are you going to have more chance of getting out of it by struggling, panicking and trying to swim in the opposite direction, or by letting yourself flow with it until you can find a point of exit? The latter!
The hormones that govern the menstrual cycle affect many functions in the body (sleep and digestion to name just two) and how we interact with and feel about the world. When we ignore the effects of our hormones, we make life unnecessarily harder for ourselves and experience more symptoms and discomfort.
So how can you start practicing Menstrual Cycle Awareness for a better cycle? First, you need to understand the four phases.
The four cycle phases
The main hormones in the cycle are oestrogen and progesterone, and their levels fluctuate, creating different phases. Here’s a quick run-down:
Menstrual phase: This is when you have your period. The lining of your uterus is being shed, the two hormones oestrogen and progesterone are low and most people feel pretty bleh here. Cramps, bloating, diarrhoea, wanting to be alone and sleep are common symptoms in this phase.
Pre-Ovulation phase: This is when your period has stopped and your body gears up to ovulate. Oestrogen starts rising and lots of people feel good here, like they’re coming out of the period cave. You might want to start socialising, feel more optimistic about life and generally feel good.
Ovulation phase: This is the point at which oestrogen has risen enough to trigger the release of an egg (or more) and is the only time you can get pregnant. Lots of people feel good here, with loads of energy, high libido and a lust for life.
Pre-Menstruation phase: Once you’ve ovulated, oestrogen drops and progesterone takes over, thickening the lining of your uterus. Many people struggle in this phase as feelings of irritability, anger, and physical symptoms like migraines and bloating can make it the worst place in the cycle.
Then, menstruation comes back around and the cycle starts again. What’s important to understand, is that this takes place over a while - on average 28 days. Which means you need on average 28 days to go through and adjust to all these feelings. THIS is why it can feel like an uphill struggle - we live in a world that expects us to dot he same things day in, day out consistently and that just isn’t possible.
Tracking the four phases of your cycle
Now that you know the four phases, you can start tracking your cycle. The first day of your period is your cycle day 1 (spotting doesn’t count). The day after that is day 2, then 3 and so on. So, if you started your period five days ago, you would be on cycle day 5 today.
If you haven’t been tracking your periods and don’t know when your last one was, you can simply track how you feel each day, and add the cycle days once you start bleeding again. Some things to track each day:
How does your body feel today? Do you have a headache, cramps, back pain, slow digestion etc?
How does your mind feel today? What kind of thoughts are you having, do you feel focussed of foggy etc?
How do you feel emotionally today? Happy, sad, angry, blank?
Start doing this daily - it can literally take just 30 seconds - and you will start to see patterns. Once you’ve noticed patterns, you can start to adapt! If you realise you get crazy migraines in the same part of your cycle, you can plan around it. For some people, it can be very exact. For example, if you have low self esteem consistently on day 20, it means you know to avoid social media at that time.
Plus, tracking symptoms means doctors will take you more seriously and diagnoses can happen quicker. You’ll already be so much further along than most people who have no empirical evidence of whats happening and have to convince their doctor about that they’re saying.
Menstrual Cycle Awareness is an amazing practice that literally changes the way you experience life as a cyclical human, and you can get started today. I have a free, downloadable tracker with tutorial video to help you get started. And if you’re struggling with your cycle and would like to see how coaching can help, schedule your free 30min call with me or check out my coaching space.
